University Job Title
Communications, Officer
Bargaining Unit
None - Not included in the union (Yale Union Group)
Time Type
Full time
Duration Type
Regular
Compensation Grade
Administration & Operations
Compensation Grade Profile
Supervisor; Senior Associate (P5)
Wage Ranges
Click here to see our Wage Ranges
Searchable Job Family
Administration, Communications/Editing/Teaching
Total # of hours to be worked:
37.5
Work Week
Standard (M-F equal number of hours per day)
Work Location
Central Campus
Worksite Address
165 Whitney Avenue
New Haven, CT 06511
Work Model
Hybrid
Position Focus
The Director of Alumni Communications and Marketing at Yale School of Management (SOM) provides leadership to support the school’s vision and mission by designing and implementing an analytics-driven marketing and communications strategy to promote the school’s fundraising priorities, programs, and alumni groups to worldwide SOM community and campus partners. The Director will focus on content strategy, segmentation, and messaging for a multi-layered audience, and leverage data and relationships to inspire philanthropic support and engage alumni. Reports to the Managing Director of Alumni Relations with a secondary report to the Managing Director(s) of Development.
Strategic Leadership: Develop, lead, and execute a communications and marketing strategy to engage alumni. Develop framework and brand voice for communications across multiple platforms. Identify new and innovative content delivery opportunities. Build and execute an SOM Alumni Visibility program that amplifies distinguished alumni and their impacts for business & society. Represent Development and Alumni Relations to other school and university departments.
Collaboration and Partnership: Collaborate with SOM Communications, Dean’s Office, and other campus communicators to leverage their expertise and promote SOM messages, momentum, and content of interest to alumni and friends. Manage relationships with internal and external vendors for graphic design, specialized content, writing, and video. Oversee calendar and collaborate with SOM Communications to ensure key stakeholders are aware of communications plans.
Content Strategy and Creation: Oversee written and visual assets for website, social channels, alumni newsletter, and digests. Oversee creation of content and manage outreach plans for signature programs, e.g., Reunion, chapter, affinity, and professional interest group events. Manage key communications for senior leadership to alumni, including content development and delivery methodology. Manage website bugs and enhancements. Supervise design and production of print and electronic materials.
Program and Project Management: Oversee SOM Connect, a digital hub for the alumni directory, events, regional, class, and affinity/professional interest groups. Set engagement and activity goals. Oversee marketing strategies and content creation. Moderate user activity and troubleshoot/fix bugs. Produce and curate a webinar series to promote professional development and lifelong learning. Market monthly career webinars. Oversee the production of the annual philanthropy report and honor roll.
Data and Analytics: Oversee creation of metrics, visualizations and analyze community data for marketing activities. Rely on a range of data sources to identify actionable communications and marketing opportunities.
People Management: Direct, manage, coach, and develop Alumni Communications and Marketing team members.
The following Essential Duties are generic in nature; the information contained in this Position Focus are most relevant to this position.
Dept/Section URL
http://som.yale.edu/about/careers
Essential Duties
- Manages relationships with external media sources. Pursues media coverage creatively and aggressively. Responds to inquiries from national and international news media, student media, the University community and the general public. 2. Enhances the overall quality of media relations for key stakeholders by preparing them for media interviews. Manages relationships with key campus stakeholders with a high degree of professionalism, judgment and understanding of stakeholder goals. 3. Creates compelling story ideas and narratives; produces content for both external and internal channels; writes copy and social media posts and manages content. 4. Plans social media strategies for key University communications and programs. Monitors University social media assets for negative comments or misinformation. 5. Supports short- and long-term communication planning with insights into audiences, channels and culture; coordinates with other communications professionals to achieve institutional goals; leads the communications process within developed standards and protocols. 6. Supports effective response strategies, often in crisis situations requiring 24/7 attention and intense media/public scrutiny, and articulates the University’s position via personal interviews or written responses. 7. Produces multimedia content and manages the work of graphic and web designers, student interns, printers, video producers and photographers. 8. Manages communication plans for all stakeholders by understanding the significance of campus initiatives and/or academic work; creates compelling stories and messages to translate the significance through language that is clear and accessible for public awareness. 9. Develops and maintains regular contact with media representatives in multiple disciplines. 10. Maintains the Yale brand and graphic identity standards; supports and maintains standard operating procedures; contributes to digital asset management. 11. May perform other duties as assigned.
Required Education And Experience
Bachelor’s degree in English, Journalism, Communications or related field and five years of experience in public relations, journalism, television, corporate communications or agency work or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Demonstrated experience in developing communications for a range of media and working with creative professionals in design, photography or video.
Required Skill/Ability 1
Outstanding verbal and written communications skills. Proven ability to produce factual, compelling, and persuasive content. Proven ability to think analytically and articulate ideas in various communication formats. Proven ability in data visualizations. Skilled editor across multiple media, including articles, email, websites, and social media channels.
Required Skill/Ability 2
Excellent interpersonal and organizational skills. Ability to work independently and collaboratively as needed. Ability to build productive working relationships with staff and volunteers to achieve common goals. Ability to build long-term relationships with alumni and donors.
Required Skill/Ability 3
Demonstrable track record of building, managing, and leading individuals and teams. Demonstrated success in developing and managing multiple projects and deadlines from conception to completion with exceptional attention to detail.
Required Skill/Ability 4
Ability to work successfully and creatively in a fast-paced and changing environment while maintaining composure and a sense of humor. Willingness to learn new tools and stay abreast of marketing analytics trends.
Required Skill/Ability 5
Ability to participate in program events including evenings and weekends as needed. Demonstrable commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and track record of building and leading diverse, inclusive teams.
Preferred Education, Experience And Skills
Eight + years experience in communications and marketing in higher ed, nonprofit, or corporate settings. Experience in content creation, marketing strategy, branding, positioning, and public relations in alumni relations and development. Proficient with Adobe Creative Suite, Drupal or other web CMS, messaging systems & CRM platforms. Experience using social media for business applications.
Weekend Hours Required?
Occasional
Evening Hours Required?
Occasional
Drug Screen
No
Health Screening
No
Background Check Requirements
All candidates for employment will be subject to pre-employment background screening for this position, which may include motor vehicle, DOT certification, drug testing and credit checks based on the position description and job requirements. All offers are contingent upon the successful completion of the background check. For additional information on the background check requirements and process visit "Learn about background checks" under the Applicant Support Resources section of Careers on the It's Your Yale website.
Posting Disclaimer
The intent of this job description is to provide a representative summary of the essential functions that will be required of the position and should not be construed as a declaration of specific duties and responsibilities of the particular position. Employees will be assigned specific job-related duties through their hiring departments.
EEO Statement
The University is committed to basing judgments concerning the admission, education, and employment of individuals upon their qualifications and abilities and seeks to attract to its faculty, staff, and student body qualified persons from a broad range of backgrounds and perspectives. In accordance with this policy and as delineated by federal and Connecticut law, Yale does not discriminate in admissions, educational programs, or employment against any individual on account of that individual’s sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, age, disability, status as a special disabled veteran, veteran of the Vietnam era or other covered veteran.
Inquiries concerning Yale’s Policy Against Discrimination and Harassment may be referred to the Office of Institutional Equity and Accessibility (OIEA).
Note
Yale University is a tobacco-free campus
